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21-04-2020
By SJA Jafri + Agencies
GENEVA/ LONDON/ NEW YORK/ BEIJING: The World Health Organization (WHO) said that all available evidence suggests that the novel coronavirus originated in bats in China late last year and it was not manipulated or constructed in a lab.
US President Donald Trump said last week that his government was trying to determine whether the coronavirus emanated from a lab in Wuhan, in central China.
“All available evidence suggests the virus has an animal origin and is not manipulated or constructed virus in a lab or somewhere else,” WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a Geneva news briefing. “It is probable, likely that the virus is of animal origin.”
There’s so much oil sloshing around the system and no demand for it that oil futures have plunged below zero for the first time in history.
Globally, more than 2.4 million people have been diagnosed with the virus. More than 170,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The US accounts for about a quarter of all deaths.
Here are the latest updates:
UN urges world to quickly scale up medicines, vaccines
The United Nations General Assembly demanded global action to quickly scale up the development of and access to medicines, vaccines and equipment to battle the pandemic, while the World Health Organization warned Tuesday that rushing to ease coronavirus lockdowns could lead to a resurgence of the outbreak.
The UN resolution asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to work with the WHO and make recommendations to ensure that all people have equitable and timely access to testing, medical supplies, drugs and future vaccines, especially in developing countries.
African officials have been outspoken about the need for medical supplies across the 54-nation continent, where health systems have historically been underfunded and will be overwhelmed by the virus.
No new corona cases in Lebanon in past 24 hours – health ministry
Lebanon recorded no new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours for the first time during the country’s outbreak, the health ministry said in its daily report.
It said that after 487 tests conducted in the last 24 hours the number of infections stood at 677, with 21 deaths.
Pakistan records highest number of coronavirus deaths in a day
Pakistan has seen its highest rise in deaths in a single day from the coronavirus, with 17 new cases taking the country’s death toll from the highly contagious virus to at least 192, according to government data.
Monday also saw the highest single-day rise in cases in Pakistan, with 705 confirmed cases taking the country’s tally to 9,214, according to the data.
Virus outbreak at migrant hotel near Athens
Authorities in Greece have locked down a migrant hotel housing 470 asylum-seekers amid reports that scores of residents tested positive for the new coronavirus.
The migration ministry said a pregnant woman from Somalia living at the hotel in Kranidi, 166 kilometres (104 miles) southwest of Athens had tested positive.
News reports said Tuesday that scores of other asylum-seekers staying at the hotel, which is supervised by the International Organisation for Migration, had also tested positive.
The International Organisation for Migration said it had “interpreters, psychologists, social workers and legal counsellors… in constant contact with all stakeholders to support in this challenging situation”.
The 28-year-old woman had been placed under “complete isolation in her room” and the entire hotel is under lockdown, the ministry said.
Spain records 430 new coronavirus deaths
New deaths attributed to the new coronavirus in Spain are slightly up again, with 430 fatalities that bring the total death toll to 21,282 from a 4-week low of 399 daily deaths on Monday.
Spain is reporting nearly 4,000 new infections to a total of 204,178, a 2 percent day-to-day increase in line with the average for the past four days, health ministry data shows.
The government is assessing already how to roll back one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns, starting from next Monday by allowing children to go out onto the streets for brief periods. Spain’s center-left Cabinet is discussing details on how the measure will be implemented during Tuesday’s weekly meeting.
Iran says 1,000 foreign prisoners temporarily released
Iran’s judiciary said it has temporary released more than 1,000 foreign prisoners due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, following criticism by UN human rights experts.
“What Iran has done in guaranteeing prisoners’ health and granting furlough to them is a significant move” compared with what other countries have done, said judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili.
British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, arrested in 2016 and serving a five-year jail term for sedition, was among 100,000 prisoners temporarily released in March.
Her leave had been extended until May 20, her lawyer told state news agency IRNA.
Afghanistan’s Ghani tests negative for coronavirus
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the first lady have tested negative for the novel coronavirus, officials announced after reports of an outbreak at the presidential palace.
Presidential spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi said the tests were conducted at their own request. “The president is healthy,” Sediqqi tweeted.
At least 40 employees of the palace have been infected by the virus, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
Global hunger could double due to COVID-19 blow – UN
The number of people facing acute food insecurity could nearly double this year to 265 million due to the economic fallout of COVID-19, the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) said.
The impact of lost tourism revenues, falling remittances and travel and other restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic are expected to leave some 130 million people acutely hungry this year, adding to around 135 million already in that category.
“COVID-19 is potentially catastrophic for millions who are already hanging by a thread,” said Arif Husain, chief economist and director of research, assessment and monitoring at the World Food Programme (WFP).
Virgin Australia airline seeks bankruptcy protection
Virgin Australia, the nation’s second-largest airline, announced it had entered voluntary administration, seeking bankruptcy protection after a debt crisis worsened by the coronavirus shutdown pushed it into insolvency.
Virgin said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange that it had appointed a team of Deloitte administrators to “recapitalize the business and help ensure it emerges in a stronger financial position on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis.”
Virgin is one of the first major airlines to seek bankruptcy protection in response to the pandemic. Virgin’s administrators have taken control of the company and will try to work out a way to save either the company or its business.
The move came after the Australian government refused Virgin’s request for a 1.4 billion Australian dollar ($888 million) loan.
Indonesia reports 375 new coronavirus infections, 26 deaths
Indonesia reported 375 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, taking the total in the Southeast Asian country to 7,135.
Health ministry official Achmad Yurianto reported 26 new coronavirus deaths, taking the total to 616.
Denmark says public gatherings will not exceed 500 people until September
Denmark will not allow public gatherings to exceed 500 persons until at least Sept. 1, the Danish health ministry said in a statement.
The statement contradicted earlier media reports, which said the government would allow larger public gatherings from May 10. A current upper limit on public gatherings of 10 people is in effect until May 10.
Philippines reports nine new coronavirus deaths, 140 more infections
The Philippines’ health ministry recorded nine new coronavirus deaths and 140 additional confirmed cases.
In a bulletin, the health ministry said total coronavirus deaths have reached 437 while infections have risen to 6,599.
But 41 more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 654, it added.
ICRC steps up support in congested Asian prisons
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which works in prisons worldwide, is stepping up efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus in overcrowded prisons in the Philippines, Cambodia and Bangladesh.
As well as a 48-bed isolation centre for Manila’s prisons, it has donated 20 tonnes of healthcare, hygiene and sanitation items to Cambodia’s Directorate General of Prisons and organised hygiene-training sessions for prison staff in Bangladesh where it has also distributed disinfection materials.
Singapore pulls virus superheroes after backlash
Singapore has pulled the Virus Vanguard, a group of five characters it developed as part of a public information campaign on its lockdown, dubbed the circuit breaker.
“We have received quite a lot of feedback on the characters and we will be reviewing them,” the government said on its official Facebook page. “We are sorry if we offended anyone.”
The five characters included Dr Disinfector, Care-leh Dee (pronounced Care Lady) and Fake News Buster.
Critics said the approach was too frivolous given the scale of the epidemic in the city-state, now the largest in Southeast Asia.
Panic in Palu as Indonesia coronavirus cases surge
Palu was the city in Indonesia’s Sulawesi island that was shaken by an earthquake and swamped by a tsunami before parts were swallowed up the earth in a phenomenon known as liquefaction.
That was in September 2018 and thousands of people are still living in cramped temporary shelters – tents even – reliant on aid for regular food and water. Now they have to worry about the coronavirus.
“As soon as the government said there were cases in Palu, I began panicking,” said Tari Yalijama, a 32-year-old mother-of-three who lives in a temporary shelter. Ian Morse has moreon the situation in the Indonesian city.
Trump tweets US immigration to be temporarily suspended
US President Donald Trump says he plans to sign an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration “in light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy’.
Donald Trump has criticised governors who have said they cannot ease lockdowns because they do not have enough coronavirus tests.
Maryland’s Republican Governor Larry Hogan said on Monday he had secured 500,000 tests from South Korea after more than 20 days of negotiations, and said states had been forced to fend for themselves and compete against each other for tests.
At his daily briefing on Monday, Trump claimed that Hogan did not understand “too much about what was going on” while Illinois’ Democratic Governor JB Pritzker “did not understand his capacity.”
The president said: “We’re in very good shape on testing.”
Hong Kong to extend coronavirus restrictions
Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam says the territory will extend its coronavirus restrictions by 14 days.
On Monday, Hong Kong reported no new cases of the virus for the first time since early March.
Under restrictions that came into force on March 29, public gatherings of more than four people are banned, gyms, cinemas, bars and other entertainment centres are closed and foreign travellers have been barred from entering the territory.
China reports 11 new confirmed coronavirus cases
China’s latest coronavirus update shows just 11 new confirmed cases on the mainland on April 20, with no new deaths.
The National Health Commission says four of the new cases were imported.
There were seven cases of local infection, including six in the northeastern border province of Heilongjiang and one in the southern province of Guangdong.
China also reported 37 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases on the mainland on April 20, compared with 49 a day earlier.
